Key Player: Bob Cavallo

Chairman, Buena Vista Music Group

The basics: Cavallo’s a longtime music biz wunderkind, having enjoyed successful stints as a nightclub owner and personal manager for major acts, including Prince. He eventually founded a company called 3rd Rail, to direct artists like Seal, Green Day, Weezer, Goo Goo Dolls, Alanis Morissette and others. Cavallo also produced pics “Purple Rain” and “Under the Cherry Moon” for Prince. He later co-founded Roven-Cavallo Entertainment, which became Atlas Entertainment, a company that both managed major music acts and produced films. He took over Disney music in 1998 at the behest of Michael Eisner.

Rep: Cavallo took over a troubled division with a mission of uniting Disney’s recording entities — Hollywood Records, Walt Disney Records, Lyric Street Records and Mammoth Records — under one banner for the first time. The music group is now coming off its most successful year in history. In particular, Disney has scored big numbers with movie soundtracks, particularly “The Lizzie McGuire Movie,” and Cavallo’s team has helped turn that film’s star, Hilary Duff, into a successful recording artist.

POV: “Since we streamlined the organization in 1998, we have definitely turned the division in the right direction. One of the challenges these days is to try and get more rights when we sign artists, to create more potential revenue streams to make up for potential losses related to piracy issues. We are also taking better advantage in exploiting Disney’s music catalogue.”